Ser tu partida y tu llegada 

quiero nacer desde tu calma

déjame ser tus pensamientos

saber lo que llevas por dentro

– Carlos Vives

☾

On Sunday I say goodbye to my family and watch them leave. I take my suitcase upstairs to the 29th floor and wait for my americans to get ready.

We’re on the road again – to Barranquilla. Six days before I leave.

We spend the day at my family’s friend’s house. They have a parrot – Roberto – that sits on my shoulder and doesn’t want to leave. We try everything to get him off but he won’t so I end up lying on the floor just to let him hop onto the grass.

The house is magical. Two stories and a pool, just above the cliffs and the ocean. The view is wonderful. We spend the day in the hamacas, eat brownies with vanilla ice cream, go swimming in the pool. We blast my favourite music through the bluetooth speakers and feel grateful. We take a lot of pictures.

Monday we meet up with a colombian friend that both me and my cousin know. We have a lot of fun swimming in the pool with her boyfriend and R.

On Tuesday I spend the day with R. and meet up with L. at night to go eat pizza, while R. is in a meeting. Just before she arrives I take a few self portraits in my cousin’s room. It’s nice to have some time alone after being with people for so long. We eat pizza with her friends and go get frozen yogurt afterwards. I think I don’t like it, because I didn’t like it in LA but I try anyways and get the weirdest combination of flavours (sandia y chocolate) but it tastes good. Afterwards I go spend time with R. and his family again. Their house is such a nice place. There’s always music playing.

On Wednesday my parents come back and we move into the hotel del Prado. It’s the nicest and most history filled hotel I’ve ever been in. I can feel the presence of the people who have lived there from 1920-now. My mum tells me stories about how she and her siblings learned to swim in the swimming pool there. I go swimming with mum and R. We meet up with friends for dinner.

Late at night, after discovering the most hidden corners of the hotel, getting bitten by a million mosquitos and losing a phone, we end up finding the phone in the hotel lobby and getting into a fight with the security men for the most ridiculous reasons. I do not understand what is going on so I get scared. It ends up being alright and no one gets hurt and we do not even have to pay any money.

On Thursday we go out to the museo del caribe, a wonderful museum about the caribbean countries. My parents buy music in the music store next to the éxito supermarket.

R. and I take an accidental nap and decide to have Crepes & Waffles for dinner. We go exchange money afterwards and  drive around, listening to John Mayer, Chester See and Elton John on the way. We end up on top of the city, overviewing the city lights in the dark.

We talk until 3 in the morning.

On Friday, I need to pack. The three suitcases are already full with souvenirs, bought by my parents. R. helps me packing, because I am too sad. We wonder if all the suitcases and bags will fit into his car. They do. I suggest going to Crepes & Waffles one more time before going to the airport. I try to soak in as much of the moment as possible. Feeling the colombian heat, listening to the sounds ranging from latino music to the cab’s signal horns. I feel the breeze, listen to the birds.

We drive to the airport. Good news for my parents, bad news for us – we will leave an hour early.

Time to say goodbye.

The tears flow silently. The flowers made of ice on the window of the plane fit the feeling inside my heart.

I do not want to leave this country that has been part of my family for over 50 years now. I can now feel it in my veins.